Leather-clamp.



PATENTED MAY 21,' 1907.

' 0. B. RATHBUN. LEATHER, GLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23,1906.

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Quezon 1f) CHARLES B. RATHBUN, or CANTON,

MASSACHUSETTS.

LEATHER-CLAMP.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. RATHBUN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Carlton, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leather-Clamps, of which the following is a full and clear specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2 a side elevation; Fig. 3 a plan view of the lower plate and Fig. 4 a plan view of the upper plate.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and easily made clamp of that well known type employed for stretching leather in frames, and the special object is to so construct the device that the stretching cord, 1'. 6., the cord connecting the clamp to the frame, may be readily attached to and de tached from the clamp and that the tighter the cord is pulled the tighter will be the grip action 011 the after set forth.

Referring to the drawing byreference characters, a designates the lower plate of the clamp which has its forward end a shaped so as to serve as the lower jaw and which has formed at its side edges the upstanding ears I) in which are j ournaled the oppositely projecting pivots c of the upper plate (1. The forward end of the upper plate is curved downwardly to form the upper jaw which cooperates with jaw a. The two plates, back of the pivots, are narrowed and bent or curved respectively upwardly and downwardly, so that they cross each other at a point back of the pivotal point. The lower plate is narrowed by cutting it away along one edge, so that the two plates are enabled to cross each other without being twisted and without increasing the width of the clamp while at the same time a broad pivotal bearing for the plates is obtained.

The extreme rear ends of the plates are each formed into a hook, the hook e of the upper plate extending in the opposite direction from the hook c of the lower plate, so that the hook of the lower plate shall lie Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed November 23, 1906. Serial I I I latter, as more fully herein- I I I directly over the hook of Patented May 21, 1907. No. 344,785.

the upper plate. The throat or mouth 0 leading into hook 0 opens toward the side opposite that toward which throat e of the lower hook opens, so that each hook guards the mouth or opening of the other hook while permitting the knotted end of the stretching cord to be readiy engaged and disengaged. the cord to the clamp, the cord near the knot is first passed through throat c, with the knot underneath hook c, and then swung into 00k 0 through throat 0, into which it is guided by the curved inner edge 0 of the lower tail-piece. When the hooks are drawn toward each other by strain on the cord the jaws are brought together on the leather, the clamping action being resilient by reason of the resiliency of the crossed tailpieces.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a clasp of the type set forth, a pair of jaw plates pivoted together one over the other and having rearwardly extending narrowed tail-pieces crossing each other at a of the pivots and each being formed into an open hook, the hooks being one above the other and having their throats opening toward opposite sides.

2. In a clasp or clamp of the type set forth, a pair of jaw plates pivoted together one over the other and having rearwardly extending elastic tail-pieces, the under one bending upward and the upper one bending downward, the two tail-pieces crossing each other at a point back of the pivots and the extreme end of each tail-piece being formed into a cord-engaging device, the upper cordengaging device consisting of a hook having a throat-like entrance opening toward the forward end of the clasp.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses this 15th day of November 1906.

CHARLES B. RATHBUN.

I/Vitnesses L. GUTHRIE, FRANK O. PERKINS.

In engaging 

